NSE Offloads 1% Stake In Indian Gas Exchange To Comply With PNGRB Norms; Holding Cut To 25%

New Delhi: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has offloaded around 1 per cent stake in Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), the country's first online delivery-based trading platform for natural gas, to comply with regulatory requirements, sources said on Monday. The stake sale is part of NSE's effort to align with Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) norms, which mandate that no single entity holds more than 25 per cent in the exchange.

IGX operates an electronic trading platform for natural gas, offering spot, forward and delivery-based contracts. Following the latest dilution, NSE's shareholding in IGX has come down to 25 per cent. Notably, the exchange had acquired a 26 per cent stake in IGX for over Rs 19 crore in March 2021 to become a co-promoter, after securing approvals from PNGRB.

Earlier this month, NSE partnered with IGX to introduce exchange-traded derivatives based on domestic natural gas prices. As part of the collaboration, NSE will launch natural gas futures contracts linked to IGX's benchmark price index -- Gas IndeX of India (GIXI), reflecting pricing based on actual trades on the IGX platform.

Moreover, IGX is also preparing to tap the capital markets. In January, the exchange announced plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by December this year. The draft papers are expected to be filed with the capital markets regulator Sebi in the second quarter of calendar year 2026, Managing Director and CEO Rajesh Kumar Mediratta had said. Earlier, IEX had informed exchanges that its board had approved the initiation of the IPO process for IGX, involving shares with a face value of Rs 10.

"The IPO will be undertaken by way of an offer for sale by certain existing and eligible shareholders, subject to market conditions, receipt of applicable approvals, regulatory clearances and other considerations," IEX had said in a stock exchange filing.